Find Spot record 7920 - Romano-British Bow Brooch From Marbury Heys

<1> Portable Antiquities Scheme, Various, Portable Antiquities Data Import, NMGW-63C11C (Digital Archive). SCH5212.

Roman copper alloy bow brooch of Trumpet-headed type and of 1st -2nd century AD date. The brooch is incomplete, missing the leg, catch-plate and pin and has a distorted bow (with a surviving length of 34.8mm, a distorted depth of 22.1mm and a weight of 11.1g). The brooch employed a hinged pin within semi-tubular wings and with a copper alloy axis bar, which is still present. The trumpet head is oval (with a width of 21.6mm and a length of 15.6mm). A protruding stub at the apex of the head suggests the brooch had an integral chain-loop. There was a flat border around the trumpet-headed bow but is now truncated. The upper bow was of a uniform width (5.6mm wide and 5.1mm thick) after narrowing from the head and is of oval section but may have a central ridge, now worn and corroded. The button is corroded but appears to have been of tri-lobed form (with a surviving depth of 10.0mm). No detail survives on the leg, which has corroded to a point. The surface has a dark-brown patina, partially preserved and elsewhere pale-green corrosion. The hinged pin within semi-tubular wings may be considered a variant of the Trumpet type brooch and is more often seen on brooches of Headstud Type.

<2> The British Museum, Portable Antiquities Scheme Online Database, NMGW-63C11C (Web Site). SCH5176.